How to tie a figure-eight stopper knot, and tell it from an overhand

A figure-eight stopper knot is a bulky knot tied near the end of a line so that the end cannot pull through a grommet, a line-lock or a hole. It stops the end, and that is all it does. It does not join two lines, and it does not attach a line to an anchor or to anything else. Practise the four steps on a table with spare cord before you tie one on a guyline, and check each knot against a correct example.

What a stopper knot does at camp

A stopper is a lump at the end of a line that is too big to pass through an opening. At camp the opening is usually a tarp grommet, a line-lock or a small hole in a peg loop. Without a stopper, the end can work back through the opening and the line runs out of place. A stopper also shows where a loose end is, which helps when cord is stored in a pocket or a stuff sack.

The figure eight does the same job as the overhand stopper, but it makes a larger lump. Pick the one that fits the opening you are stopping, and check that the knot does not pass through it under the pull you expect.

How to tie a figure-eight stopper knot

The Knot bench uses four steps, and each step has a matching diagram on the bench. Work through them in order with a practice length of cord.

1. Make a crossing loop with the working end over the standing part.
2. Take the working end around behind the standing part.
3. Bring the end across and through the first loop.
4. Dress the turns, then verify with practical instruction.

Keep the working end and the standing part separate in your head as you go. Step 3 is where the end passes through the first loop, so it is the point to compare with the bench. The Knot bench at step 3 of the figure eight shows that pass. Use the bench to check your own tying, not as a substitute for someone watching your hands.

How to tell a correct figure-eight knot

A correct figure-eight has two lobes, one above the other, which give the knot the shape of an 8. The standing part and the working end leave the knot on opposite sides. If both ends leave on the same side, or the knot has only one lobe, it is not a figure eight. Untie it and start again from step 1.

The overhand stopper has one crossing. The working end crosses over the standing part once to make a loop, then passes through that loop. The figure eight adds a pass of the working end behind the standing part before the end comes through, and that extra pass produces the second lobe.

Why a figure eight rather than an overhand

The knot reference Animated Knots rates the figure eight as much better than the simple overhand for one main reason. After it has been jammed hard against a block or grommet, it does not bind, and it can still be undone easily. The overhand is smaller, but it can bind so tightly that it is difficult to undo. That matters on a guyline that is tensioned and released every night.

The same reference names the trade-off: the ease of untying is occasionally a vice, because the knot can fall undone and need retying. Check stoppers on lines that flap in the wind. Where a bigger or more stable stopper is needed, it lists alternatives such as the double overhand.

Dressing, setting and leaving a tail

Dressing means arranging the parts neatly before you tighten. Lay each turn beside the one before it, without twisting, so that no part lies across another by accident. Setting is the tightening. A knot tightened while its parts are tangled is hard to correct afterwards, so dress first and set second.

Leave a tail on the working end. No fixed length is given here. Leave a tail long enough that it cannot work back through the grommet or hole, then check it after setting. A tail far longer than that does nothing more for the stopper and can snag on gear, so trim it to suit the job.

Common mistakes with a figure-eight stopper

• Tying an overhand by accident, which skips the pass behind the standing part.
• Loose or crossed turns, which change the shape of the knot and make it hard to read.
• Setting the knot before dressing it, so the turns are trapped inside.
• Leaving a tail that can work back through the opening.
• Tying the stopper in the middle of a line when the aim was to stop the end.

Check each knot against the bench diagram for the same step. If the shape does not match the two-lobed figure, untie it and begin again.

Figure-eight knots that are not stoppers

The figure-eight name covers more than one knot. The stopper described here sits at the end of a line. The family also includes loop knots, which make a loop in a line and are used in climbing. Those are different knots. Do not substitute one for the other, and learn the loop knots only from an instructor who checks your tying.

Tying a stopper at the end of a guyline does not make that line suitable for holding weight. For how the line itself behaves, the guyline cord materials guide compares the fibres, and how much guyline a tarp needs covers the length.

Practising and checking the knot

Practise the four steps on a table until the shape is right every time, then tie the knot with the cord and in the place you will use it. Recheck it after the first use, because cord can stretch, fray or ease as it is handled, and a stopper that has moved needs looking at again.

Start the bench at step 1 of the figure eight, then move through steps 2 to 4 with the step slider. The bench shows schematic rope paths only. It does not inspect or certify the knot you tie.

How much a stopper knot weakens a line

Any knot bends the line. Tight bends and uneven loading are the general reasons a knot reduces what a line can take, and the size of that reduction varies with the knot, the material and how the knot was set. Do not treat a stopper as keeping a fixed share of the rope's strength. The reasons, and why published percentages disagree, are set out in the knot strength percentage guide. The tie-off for a fixed object, round turn and two half hitches, has its own guide.